The Random Adventures of Mumble and Benedict
by MumblePhantomFox
Summary: Vol. 1: A rare and amazing opportunity sparks an unbreakable bond between the unlikeliest of pairs.   Grey Christmas: What kind of Christmas would it be if the cogs didn't try to ruin the toon's celebrations?
1. The Meeting Pt 1

**Author's Note: Welcome to my dreamland. The first two or three chapters of this'll basically be a history lesson. It is a greatly editted version of this dream I had a few years back and somehow have chosen to remember. After 'The Meeting', there'll basically be a bunch of oneshots and stuff about their adventures. Enjoy! ^^  
><strong>

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><p><strong>The Meeting <strong>_**(Part 1)**_

With just one more cream pie to the face, the Spin Doctor did some spinning of his own, gears flying from him as he combusted. The two victorious toons gave each other high five, satisfied with their rewards.

"Thanks, Mumble! It's finally... Finished?" the lavender bear said to her similarly colored friend. The mouse blinked in confusion as she trailed off. "What?" The bear pointed up above his head as he felt something brush his large round ears. Startled, he darted over to the bear's side, assuming a defensive pose as he looked for what had touched him. Mumble calmed himself as he saw what had alerted him; a blackened slip of paper.

Chuckling at his stupidity, he trotted over to it, jumping a little to catch it in his paw. The lavender bear trotted over to the sidewalk before any cogs came, though Mumble remained in the middle of the road, scanning the slip. "Mumble!" His name being called snapped him back to reality just in time to see a Backstabber approaching. Quickly, he dove for the sidewalk, looking over his shoulder as the Lawbot strode regally past.

He found the purple-faced robot looking back at him curiously, having paused for a moment. Once he realized that he was being watched, he blinked and turned away. "Don't turn your back on me, toon," he said in a warped robotic voice. Mumble sneered and shook his head. _'Cogs...'_ he thought, starting as he noticed his buddy had snatched the slip. She was scanning the charred grey paper, her expression excited.

"What is it, Sabrina?" he asked, taking the paper back and looking at it more himself. He noticed that it was a note, generic typed letters displaying a clear message:

**'Meeting July 28th, 5:45 pm.  
><strong>**All Level 8 and Higher Cogs  
><strong>**required to attend.'**

Mumble's eyes widened. Sabrina knew that side-grin by heart, and when used in this context, it wasn't good. "That's tomorrow! Do you know what this means?" the lavender mouse squeaked excitedly, met with a frightened bear. "You can't be serious... You'll get worse than just sad and gag-less! You'll get _depressed!_ You could _die!_" she exclaimed. Mumble frowned. "I can't pass this up," he said simply, gesturing to the damaged reminder.

The mouse rushed off and Sabrina could only sigh. Once he was locked on, the key was as good as gone. She had been down that road before, and it hadn't ended well. She pulled out her teleport hole while her friend ran from Walrus Way to Polar Place, nearly busting the door of The Precipitation Foundation off of its hinges.

The yellow monkey behind the desk didn't even flinch as the toon entered and slapped a piece of paper onto his desk. He glanced at Mumble's devilish grin, his face telling him to read it. Taking his time, Professor Flake freed the note from the hyperactive toon's grip, reading over it with a growing curiosity. Sure, Mumble bugged him a lot, but usually he didn't break down the door.

After he finished reading, Mumble blinked angelically, his big eyes pleading. The monkey wasn't amused. He sighed. "Fine, you can _borrow_ this disg-" he began, digging out a cog suit to hand it to Mumble. The excitable mouse was out the door with the disguise before he had a chance to finish. The Professor sighed.

"What did I just do?"


	2. The Meeting Pt 2

**The Meeting (Part 2) **

One sleepless night and a nearly a whole painfully long day later, it was finally time for the meeting.

Mumble hadn't even dreamt of being so excited for something that was probably going to be horribly boring. He slipped into the disguise, pausing as he noticed the Legal Eagle mask included. _'Great, now I get to be a spy_ and _a guinea pig,'_ he thought as he put it on, noting that he was probably testing it out.

Hoping that nobody had noticed, Mumble walked out from behind the glittering marble column, his footsteps surprisingly quiet on the spotless tile floor of the Lawbot HQ. A mass of cogs were heading over to the east side of the building, giving the toon something to follow. A backstabber fell in step beside him, giving the disguised toon a suspicious look. He looked strikingly familiar, though Mumble was certain that he was just imagining things; all backstabbers looked the same.

The cog remained at his side as they entered a court-like room and took their seats. Once everyone was there and seated, an eerie silence crashed down over the room. Mumble shifted nervously, the movement noticed only by the backstabber who shot him a suspicious glance. _'I'm on to you…'_ it seemed to say, not making Mumble any more comfortable than he already wasn't.

He tensed as a loud booming began to echo through the room, the large wooden door sliding up to reveal the Chief Justice, covered by shadows. He emerged out onto the platform, looking out over the gathered cogs with satisfaction in his commanding gaze.

Mumble was almost shocked. He was far superior to the Sellbot Vice President that he had seen and was beaten by constantly, his metallic voice sending a chill up the toon's spine. "Thank you all for coming here. As I'm sure you all have observed, there's been an astonishing amount of happy toons recently. With the addition of 'parties' coming soon, I fear that there is no room for incompetence. Therefore, I have gathered you all here today to assess your skills," he said, his eyes and casual smile scanning over the crowd. Uniformly, they all stood and began to travel in single file over towards the space in front of the Chief Justice.

Mumble followed, watching what the others did carefully. After a minute or two of waiting in line, it was finally his turn. He stepped up under the watchful gazes of both the backstabber who was now waiting by the door and the boss. Taking an unnoticeable deep breath, he prepared the one cog attack he had for an emergency like this. Just like with the others, an unlucky toon was carried and dropped before him. There was only one problem; his toon was Sabrina.

Mumble was utterly horrified, but under the watchful eyes of the Chief Justice himself and being the only toon there that could possibly face him, he had no choice. _'I'm so sorry,'_ he thought. With a flick of his hand, a volley of blue birds were sent flying at the bear. She was startled and got hit by them hard, causing more damage than he intended. He frowned as Sabrina's head hung slightly before she teleported away, leaving her friend feeling terrible. He looked up at the CJ, who looked back down at him with approval. "Impressive enough. You are dismissed," he stated. Mumble didn't hesitate in heading for the door, allowing the next cog to take his place.

The backstabber met him at the door. He said nothing, but refused to stop following the disguised toon as he left the HQ and traveled towards The Precipitation Foundation. When they were halfway there, Mumble finally decided to try a different tactic to get rid of him.

"Why are you following me?" he asked. The cog simply shrugged in response as if he had thought better of saying anything.

"Do you have a name?"

"Benedict. Just call me Benny."

Mumble blinked. He hadn't thought that cogs actually had specific names.

"Do _you_ have a name?" Benny pressed. Mumble had a feeling that the cog already figured that he was a toon. "Mumble."

"Hm." That seemed to give the backstabber even more suspicion. They were both silent for a few seconds, the chilly wind of The Brrrgh faintly audible in the silence. Benny looked off to the side, thinking hard about what he was about to say. Finally, he sighed and put a hand on Mumble's shoulder, stopping him. Mumble turned, looking at him with confusion and dread as he spoke. "You're a toon, aren't you?" he asked, his robotic voice coated with disappointment. "I-I'm not sure what you're talking about," Mumble said, the fact that he was lying all too obvious. The cog blinked, frowning. "You're lying. Take off the suit."

Giving up, the toon removed his disguise, stunning Benny a little as he went from his height to shorter than him. There was an awkward silence as Mumble waited there expectantly. Finally, he spoke up. "Aren't you going to challenge me? Get a restraining order? Steal my gags? Capture me? _Something?"_ he squeaked in confusion.

Benedict shook his head. "I don't challenge toons."


	3. The Meeting Pt 3

**The Meeting (Part 3)**

Mumble nearly fainted. "You _what?"_

Benny shifted uncomfortably, realizing what he had just admitted. "I don't know, I never wanted to fight toons. I figured that _you _would want to challenge _me._ Not the other way around," he said. "Or at least that's how it normally is…"

Mumble blinked, a bit surprised and still in shock. "I thought all cogs wanted to hurt toons." Benny shrugged. "I don't." The toon looked away thoughtfully. "Maybe you don't have to," he offered, receiving a confused look from the cog. He put a hand on his chin and tapped his foot. "You could always leave. I could hide you or something," he squeaked finally, grinning unsurely. Benedict's eyes widened at the idea and a small smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. "You'd do that?" Mumble nodded, and the two continued towards The Precipitation Foundation.

Mumble chuckled inwardly at the few toons they passed, who stared at them stupidly. It must've been odd for them to see a toon marching down the street, a cog following close behind without the mouse even seeming to notice, or so he'd figured. After the short walk, he motioned for Benny to wait outside before going into the small building.

"Ah, Mumble. I see you're still in one piece. Find out anything interesting?" the yellow monkey greeted. "Evenin' Professor. Here's your suit. I don't think many of them suspected anything," he said somewhat evasively. Professor Flake accepted the disguise, and frowned. "So they aren't planning anything?" he asked. Mumble shook his head. "Not as far as I could tell. It was surprisingly short. Nothing too important."

"So something did happen?"

"It's not important."

"Can you tell me anyway?"

"I might. Depends on certain things."

"Like what?" Mumble's face paled. _'Man, I suck at lying…'_ he thought, searching for a response. _"He means that it's risky to say."_ He jumped a little at Benny's muffled voice. Professor Flake looked past Mumble at his door. "Is there a cog out there?"

"I'm sure it's just the wind. Anyway, um… Things like, uh, your experience in making cakes?" he squeaked quickly as the monkey stood and walked out from behind his desk. The mouse tried to bar his way, but failed and was shoved out of the way. He quickly regained his footing and raced after the professor.

Outside, Professor Flake was looking the calm backstabber up and down. Mumble quickly jumped in front of him, pointing at Benny. "Oh no, a cog! Save yourself, I'll take care of him!" he said frantically, pulling out a cream pie. Thoroughly irritated, the monkey pushed the hyper mouse out of the way, causing the toon to fall over, the pie landing on top of him. Benny tried hard to stifle a laugh, the gavel on his chest changing to a glowing yellow dot. The light frightened Mumble, who stood quickly, biting his lower lip as the other toon studied the cog.

"Why isn't he attacking, I wonder?" the monkey pondered out loud, receiving a reluctant answer from Benny. "I'd prefer not to, if at all possible." Professor Flake blinked and prodded one of the cog's slate blue pockets, his expression astonished. "I see you don't have any attacks?" Mumble's mouth gaped as Benny shook his head. "I only use Finger Wag when necessary."

Professor Flake was impressed. "Interesting," he said, turning to Mumble. "And I suppose you want to bring him into the heart of Toontown? Right to all of our smaller toons that are vulnerable in such a high leveled cog's presence?" Benedict narrowed his eyes, a bit hurt by the remark. Mumble kicked some snow. "Sure. I trust him." The monkey was taken aback. "Very well. He's your responsibility." With that, he reentered his shop, leaving the dumbfounded pair outside.

"So, where to?" Benny asked, breaking the silence. Mumble glanced down at his own pocket and gulped. "First, I need to tell you something. Well, it's more of a warning…" The Lawbot cocked his head a bit. "What?" His eyes followed his new friend's movements as he took out what looked like a scrapbook and flipped through the pages, pulling out a small scroll. He gulped and looked away as he handed it to Benny. The robot hesitated, but accepted it, unrolling it cautiously. He nearly blew a fuse at what he saw. "What's this?"

"A toontask."

"_90 Lawbots? _And it's complete!" he exclaimed, more surprised than disgusted. "How many of these are backstabbers?" Mumble looked down at the icy ground underfoot. "That one isn't asking for all that many compared to some other tasks toons get…" he said quietly. Suddenly, he looked up, his expression determined as he took back the scroll. Benny approved of his new oath, stated with a paw over his heart:

"I pledge that I will never harm another backstabber for as long as I live unless absolutely necessary for self defense."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: And that marks the probably way to sudden end of your crash course in Mumble and Benny's history. Review, please! Flames welcome! Never fear, the adventures only <em>start<em> here. If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear 'em. :)**


	4. Blending In

_Author's Note: Here it is, the first of Mumble and Benny's mini-adventures. Sorry it took so long, enjoy!_  
><em>If I owned Toontown, I would be the richest girl alive, so obviously I don't. ;)<em>

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><p><strong>Blending In<strong>

"Get up, you heap of metal! We gotta _go!"_

Benny growled inwardly and rolled over. "Where's the fire?" He had been staying at Mumble's estate for the past few days, getting used to brighter colors and ever present humor. He jumped as the pestering toon's foot his leg, and turned his head to glare at the mouse. "C'mon. Do you wanna try going to the playground, or don't you?"

The Lawbot sat up. "What? Isn't that a bit dangerous for both of us? You know, me being a robot and all?" he questioned nervously. Mumble shook his head, smiling brightly. "They're starting the Halloween celebrations today. Everyone dresses up, so nobody will suspect anything! Besides, it's supposed to be a bit more scary than funny," he squeaked excitedly.

Benny glanced off to the side, still uncertain about going.

They arrived after a while at Toontown Central. Mumble was right; nobody suspected a thing. Benedict was able to hide in plain sight as he strode alongside the mouse, looking around at all of the orange and black decorations hung over the fence and buildings.

"Did I tell you so, or what?" the toon said cheerily. Benny glanced down at him and raised an eyebrow. "I can't take you seriously while you're wearing that." Mumble sniffed indignantly. Every toon was dressed up, and the mouse had chosen to be a devil; a black cape with red lining, small horns on a headband and a fake tail with a red and black pitchfork completing the outfit. "Would you rather I dressed as a clown?" Benny shivered. "No thank you."

"Hey Mumble! Who's your friend?"

Mumble jumped at the sound of Sabrina's voice behind him. They both turned. The mouse greeted his old friend cheerily while Benedict tried not to act scared. "This is Benny," he said, deciding that the nickname sounded 'toon-like' enough. "Hi," Benny greeted, waving at the bear. "Great costume! I'm Sabrina," she replied. "Thanks," he said, a bit astonished. He thought his voice would give him away for sure.

The robot's head turned suddenly as something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Mumble jumped as the cog chuckled for a second before realizing it and covering his mouth.

Too late.

The pair glanced at Benny's chest just in time to see the button flicker from a slate grey gavel to a yellowish green light. Sabrina noticed and her mouth gaped. Toons were gullible, but everyone knew that even the best cog disguises didn't have working lights. Both the cog and the mouse frantically tried to cover it, but toons were already noticing. "COG! COG IN THE PLAYGROUND! IT'S AN INVASION!" The costumed animals scattered, putting a generous amount of space between them and the trio. Sabrina grabbed Mumble's arm and tried to pull him away. "C'mon, we gotta _go!_"

She only succeeded in nearly tripping him. The mouse yanked himself free and darted between his friend and some experienced toons, putting his arms out to shield the stunned and terrified backstabber as they aimed an array of different gags straight at them both.

"Out of the way!" one of the other toons barked, a seltzer bottle aimed at the two. "No!" Mumble squeaked. Benny tried to make himself smaller and covered his face. The crowds parted as an aqua dog pushed his way through. It was none other than Flippy, the mayor of Toontown himself.

_"What_ is going on here?"

Mumble was trembling slightly. He kept glancing at the door, aware that Benedict was likely pressed against the wall, unable to enter without being attacked by an angry mob. Flippy was exasperated. He eyed the mouse with suspicion, obviously questioning the toon's sanity. Mumble spoke first.

"Okay, I know what this looks like…"

Flippy growled. "What were you _thinking, _Mumble? Bringing a Lawbot into the playground? Above all, the very playground where everyone starts at? What is he, level 9? And you honestly thought for a moment, that this was a good idea?" Mumble gulped. "It's a bit complicated. No no, wait, let me explain…" Mumble began, cutting off the mayor as he opened his mouth to speak.

"He doesn't, isn't, well… He's different. He doesn't have any weapons and he doesn't hurt toons. Wait, let me finish-" Mumble didn't get the chance to finish. Benny burst in and quickly slammed the door on a shower of water and pastries. The door jerked as the mob outside tried to open it, but the cog pressed his back onto it as hard as possible. Angered yells could be heard outside. Mumble groaned and smacked a hand to his forehead. "Nobody in here wants to kill me too badly, right?" Benny asked nervously, turning to press his shoulder against the door as it threatened to burst open.

Flippy sighed inwardly and walked around his desk to examine Benny, who was wearing a sort of forced grin and kept glancing nervously at the door knob. Mumble held back, trying not to look nervous as Flippy scanned over his friend, sifting through his empty attack pocket. The mayor blinked, a bit shocked as if he had thought Mumble had been lying. He glanced up at Benny, who gulped. "I''llretirebacktoMumble'sestateandI'llnevercomehereagainIswear!" he exclaimed without a breath, his voice growing shrill in his panic. Flippy grabbed his arm and swung him away from the door, which promptly burst open to display the crowd of at least 50 different toons, their gags poised to aim. Benny made a wierd popping noise and dove behind Flippy's desk.

"Lower your gags." Reluctantly, the wide array of gags was lowered. Benny peered out from his hiding place and Mumble trotted over to help him up. He hesitated, but stood and walked out of the shelter to stand erect behind him.

"These two are not our enemies. Neither Mumble nor the cog will harm you," Flippy called out. The many gathered toons didn't look reassured, though they didn't question the mayor. Reluctantly, they all dispersed and went back to what they were doing before. The cyan dog approached Mumble. "Thanks," the mouse sighed. He flinched as Flippy pointed at his nose threateningly.

"I don't know _what _you were thinking, Mumble! I trust Professor Flake's judgment – yes, he told me the day you found Benny – but one step out of line and you'll _both_ be patrolling the streets!" The mayor walked back to his office, leaving Mumble to grin nervously at the nearby toons who were smirking at him in a you-deserved-that sort of way. "At least we're off the hook for now," he said, tugging on the collar of his red and black cape. "Well, that was certainly eventful," Benny observed. Mumble nodded. He was silent for a moment.

"Wanna go home?"

"_Yes."_

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><p><em>AN: Review please? Flames and constructive criticism both welcome, just don't go overboard with the swearing._


	5. Grey Christmas Pt 1

**Author's Note: **Sorry this is late, but I hope you enjoy it. :) Read and enjoy!

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><p><strong>Grey Christmas <strong>_**(Part 1)**_

"Good _grief, _Mumble! It's cold!"

The mouse and his unlikely cog friend were once again strolling around the playgrounds of Toontown. Today, Mumble had insisted on the Brrrgh, no matter how much Benny complained. Mumble stopped and turned towards the cog, waggling his finger. "Benedict Arnold Theodore, where's your holiday spirit?" he said sternly before walking on through the snow. Benny rolled his eyes and strode alongside the toon.

The entire playground was decorated once again with festive lights, tinsel, popcorn strings, and a fairly massive tree near the Toon Headquarters. The snow was glittering and lit up with different colors by the lights, and toons were all over the place caroling, playing in the snow, ice skating on the frozen lake or telling stories to younger toons.

Mumble suddenly snorted and started snickering. Benny raised an eyebrow. "What?" Mumble shook his head. "Thought of something funny."

"What was it?"

Mumble snickered again. "How much you wanna bet that if somebody licked you, their tongue would get stuck?" Benny jumped back and Mumble started laughing hysterically. "EWAUGH, _SICK!"_ Benny exclaimed. Though nobody paid any attention to Mumble (naturally someone bursting out in uncontrollable laughter was a common occurrence), several toons eyed Benedict wearily and skirted him as they went about their business. He frowned as he noticed and helped Mumble up. The mouse calmed himself and flicked away a tear. "Ah… What's wrong?" he asked. Benny snapped out of his thoughts. "Wha-? Oh, nothing. It's just that they still don't even want to be near me." Mumble sighed. "We'll have to get used to it."

Only seconds later, a small black spot opened up on the snow in front of them. A familiar lavender bear popped up through it. "Hello Sabrina," Mumble greeted, dipping his head slightly. Sabrina skipped any introductions. "Flippy needs to see you both. It's urgent," she said. Mumble cocked his head but didn't ask questions. He pulled out his own teleport-hole and tossed it on the ground before unceremoniously shoving Benny over it and jumping in after him.

In Flippy's office, Mumble's hole opened up on the ground and Benny was thrown out of it. He landed in a heap on the ground as Mumble jumped out of it after him, landing neatly on his feet as the hole closed behind him. Benny got to his feet and brushed himself off.

The mayor was pacing determinedly in front of his desk, his eyes on the ground. It took a few moments before he realized that he wasn't alone. "Thank you for coming, Mumble. You too Benedict," he said, pausing in his pacing. Mumble nodded and Benny smiled slightly at being acknowledged without hostility or disgust.

Flippy sighed. "We have a bit of a problem. As you know, it's Christmas morning, but I'm afraid that some of our citizens' presents have been tampered with. Several hundred toons have already been scared out of their wits, and we think that cogs have planted them in the night. I was hoping that you two could help."

Mumble saluted the mayor. "Happy to!" Benny was distracted momentarily by the small glittering tree positioned proudly on Flippy's desk. He did a double-take at the small presents situated beneath it. "Sir, I wouldn't open that one if I were you." Flippy looked over at the cog quizzically. He was pointing a purple finger at the biggest; a small box that looked as if it had been perfectly hand wrapped in pale blue paper with a neat silver bow on top. The dog blinked. "How can you tell?" Benny shrugged. "Its paper is much too neat, the paper isn't brightly colored, the bow is a shade of grey, and the ribbon used to tie it isn't a hair out of place. Looks machine made," he observed. Cautiously, he picked it up and quickly held it at arm's length. The small box instantly popped open, spewing several little gears out in every direction. "See?"

Mumble applauded and Flippy grinned. "Incredible! Sadly, there are too many toons to go around and inspect every house. It'd take you until the Christmas after the next to get through even a quarter of our citizen's gifts," he pointed out sadly. Mumble's shoulders sagged. "Bummer. What are we gonna do?"

Benny tossed the remains of the small box in Flippy's waste bin. "I have a plan." Flippy blinked.

"By all means, let's hear it."


	6. Grey Christmas Pt 2

**Grey Christmas **_**(Part 2)**_

"I don't like this…" Mumble whispered as he peered around a corner. Benny was looking around as well. "I know. There are hardly any cogs out at all," he replied, narrowing his eyes. They were in Daisy's Gardens, heading down the very street that should be swarming with Sellbots.

Seeing as there wasn't much danger, the duo continued down the street without as much stealth. They only stopped when the dark grey entrance to the Sellbot Headquarters loomed directly in their path. "Absolutely silent, keep to the shadows, never know what you're gonna find…" Benny was saying to himself in an undertone. They both took a deep breath and dove off to the side to enter.

Mumble looked around, his brow furrowed. "Everything seems normal. Maybe you were wrong?" he suggested, looking at the backstabber behind him. The cog shook his head. "Sellbots are a bit smarter than others give them credit for. Not much smarter, mind you. They've hidden it," he said, slipping into a stolen brown suit, the Sellbot Statistic bar logo covering his gavel on his chest. He motioned for Mumble to follow him. The toon slipped into his Cold Caller disguise and tagged along behind the Lawbot.

Benny led him to the Sellbot Towers, where they entered, only receiving a few glances from the nearby cogs. It was only after the elevator opened at the top of the towers did they finally notice something. Benny had been right after all; the Sellbots had set up a small sort of factory where toons normally fought the VP. The cage that normally held a single toon looked enlarged and held four toons. Mumble assumed that they had been hoping to fight the VP and had instead been captured. Thankfully, they didn't call out to either of them.

"Are you ok?" Mumble whispered, raising an eyebrow. Benny had propped himself up against the nearest wall. He shivered and shook his head. "Fine. I just hate elevators."

They proceeded, inspecting the machine as closely as they dared. It was manufacturing neat little presents, filling them tightly with gears and sending them tumbling into dark bags before cogs flew off to distribute them. Mumble gulped and Benny narrowed his eyes. The backstabber motioned for the toon to stay put before flying to the machine and landing nearly silently atop it. Mumble glanced around nervously, but amazingly, none of the Sellbots seemed to notice.

Benedict didn't hesitate; he flipped open a panel, flipped some switches, dialed a number, turned a few knobs and hit a button before shutting it again and focusing on the conveyor belt below. The machine gave a shudder, and put more gears in each box than it had previously. Benny grinned at it, sending a chill down Mumble's spine before he flew back down to the ground and ran towards the toon. _"Get down!" _he whispered urgently and shielded the mouse. "What did you-" He never finished his sentence. A very pale orange present with a neat silver ribbon dropped off of the end of the belt and promptly exploded in a generous amount of gears as soon as it hit the bag. The nearby cogs jumped and fled as more of the sabotaged gifts fell and exploded.

"Run!" Benny yelled, grabbing Mumble by the waist and taking off again, the propeller on top of his head spinning frantically to support the extra weight. Mumble held on for dear life and forced himself not to look down at the long drop as they descended down towards the front yard of the headquarters. A minute or two passed before they hit the ground running, not even pausing to catch their breath until they were both safely back in Toontown Central. Flippy opened his door to find them both kneeling over, panting heavily. "We're back…" Mumble puffed between gasps.

"So, did it go ok? Are they going to stop?" Flippy asked cautiously. Mumble straightened up and leaned against the wall. "Yeah, and I don't think so."

Benny shook his head, recovering a bit. "They're only being held up. Once that thing is repaired, they'll go right back to ruining the holidays. I'm guessing that the Vice President won't be too happy either." Flippy frowned, but Mumble grinned. "Looks like we'll have to tackle the source, then." Benedict nodded. "I'm afraid you're right," he said. The mayor looked from Mumble and Benny to the content Toons milling about the playground. He dipped his head.

"Take Sabrina and anyone else you can find, and bring that boss down."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Stay tooned for the Third and final part! Hopefully should have it done by new years. Will Mumble and Benny defeat the Vice President? Will they save christmas? Will they live to tell the tale? Will I ask any more dumb predictable questions that nobody wants to hear? Will you review and have a happy holiday?


	7. Grey Christmas Pt 3

**Author's Note:** Sorry 'bout the wait, hope it was worth it. ^-^" Enjoy Part 3!

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><p><strong>Grey Christmas <strong>_**(Part 3)**_

Gathering toons was easy enough; they even had Professor Flake on their side. In addition to him and Sabrina, Mumble and Benny had managed to recruit two more toons that were more than happy to help. One of them was a highly experienced tall red cat named Miss Lulu Fuzzyswirl, the other a semi-experienced short green rabbit named Sylvester.

Honestly, Mumble was a bit nervous. In spite of his eager attitude, he had never made it through a fight with the VP; the cog battles at the start normally caught him off guard. Benny was similarly anxious. He had never fought another cog, let alone a boss. Sabrina seemed excited, a skip in her step, while Lulu and Sylvester looked calm and content.

They all got into their disguises as soon as they were past the entrance to the headquarters, Benny putting his stolen suit back on, Mumble as a Cold Caller, Sabrina in a borrowed Telemarketer suit, Professor Flake and Lulu both as Mr. Hollywoods and Sylvester as a Mover & Shaker. Once they were all in the roomy elevator, Benny spoke. "We'll check the top of the towers as a start. Be careful, they'll probably be a bit suspicious of us."

He was right. As soon as the elevator doors opened again, several cogs turned and scanned them for any sign of a toon. Though they paused on Benny for a minute, they allowed them to pass without stopping them. The group didn't even have to look for the Vice President. He was sitting off to the side, supervising the ongoing repairs with a disgruntled frown.

Suddenly, the VP turned to them. "You six, follow me," he commanded, going through a large door off to the side of the scene. They hesitated, but followed him. The room was fairly spacious with wooden crates stacked up randomly by the walls. The VP shut the door behind them.

"Funny, isn't it? How much damage a simple toon can cause to an entire production," he said. With a snap of his fingers, every disguise was lifted and Benny was stunned momentarily. They all recovered, and the vice president eyed Benedict with astonishment before looking at each of the exposed toons in turn; Mumble, Lulu, Sylvester and Professor Flake already had pies out and ready to fire, and Sabrina was fumbling to get one out of her gag pouch.

"Do you think I'm stupid, toons?"

Mumble shrugged. "Little bit."

Simultaneously, they all threw the pies at the VP, who promptly began chucking gears at each of them. "Aim for the face! Blind him!" Benny called, picking up gears and throwing them back at the boss as hard as he could. Mumble instantly began aiming higher, one of them hitting the boss squarely in the face. It occupied him momentarily, and he backed up, wiping the cream out of his eyes. The other toons caught on and aimed theirs higher as well until the VP was forced to shield his face instead of throwing gears.

Benny ran up to Professor Flake. "Got any magnets?" he asked, raising his voice over the commotion. The shopkeeper nodded and handed him three small red horseshoe magnets. Benny took them, holding them away from his body, and jumped up onto a large crate. Aiming one of them towards the VP, he let it fly out of his hand. It shot towards the boss like a heat-seeking missal and hit him with enough force to cause a decent dent. He did the same thing with the other two.

The Vice President growled. "You stupid error! What do you think you're doing?" Benny narrowed his eyes. "Helping my friends." Suddenly, the VP jumped. Not expecting it, none of the toons were able to dodge it in time. They all tripped, giving the boss just enough time to grab a set of controls without getting another pie to the face. "You know, the thing about magnets is that with enough power, they can wipe a simple cog's memory. Surely you know that?"

Benny slapped himself in the face. "You won the prize, I didn't even notice that," he said, acknowledging the conveniently placed electromagnet up by the ceiling with a wave of his hand. It was much like one of the ones from the Cashbot Headquarters. The Vice President laughed evilly and flipped a switch. The backstabber tried to run, but it was too late; he was sent flying up to the magnet. _"BENNY!"_ Mumble squealed. Professor Flake grabbed the toon's collar to hold him back. "Let me at 'im! You stupid hunk of junk!" the mouse squeaked, struggling to get out of the monkey's firm hold.

The boss clicked his tongue. "Poor wittle mousey, his wittle fwiend is all discombobulated…" he teased, turning off the magnet. Benny fell limply to the ground and didn't stir. Mumble slowed and stopped struggling. Just then, he was struck by an idea.

After a moment of rushed whispering, he grabbed a large magnet from Professor Flake's pouch and aimed it at the VP. The magnet's controls flew towards him as Professor Flake slid open the large door. Mumble swung the magnet towards the door and every cog on the tower fled. Mumble gritted his teeth. _'This one's for Benny,'_ he thought, turning it on. "DUCK!" Mumble called.

The toons scattered as piece by piece, the entire machine outside flew to the magnet, reduced to a heap of metal. _"Noooooo!"_ the Vice President yelled furiously. His entire production had been destroyed before his eyes. Their job done, the five of them were forced to flee. Mumble cast one glance back at where his friend was laying before Sylvester coaxed him to leave.

* * *

><p>Mumble sat on the steps in Toontown Central, his ears drooped as he stared sadly at the ground in front of him.<p>

Flippy noticed and sat down beside him. "Mumble," he began gently, resting his arm over the mouse's shoulders, "I'm sure Benny wouldn't have wanted you to spend the rest of Christmas Day sitting on a step. C'mon, I've got a cup of cocoa with your name on it." Mumble sighed and shook his head. "Not in the mood…" he murmured.

Flippy frowned, but the frown quickly turned into a smile. "You know, I bet if he was here right now, he'd tell you to get off of your heroic butt and have a cookie." Mumble's shoulders drooped.

"Ooh, close. I was thinking more along the lines of 'Get off your heroic butt and give me a hug'."

At the familiar warped voice, Mumble's eyes widened and he whirled around. Sure enough, Benny was right behind him in a scarf and Santa hat, standing just as proud as ever. Mumble squeaked happily. "Benny! You're okay!" He seized the cog in a tight hug. The cog gave a hearty laugh, ignoring the button on his chest as it flashed to green.

"I woke up and a monkey was reading some blueprints and jabbing me with a screwdriver," he said, nodding towards said monkey who was now standing next to Flippy. Mumble released Benny and jumped on Professor Flake. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he said, grinning. Professor Flake rolled his eyes. "He should be a bit sturdier now. And you owe me a Toontask; those blueprints weren't cheap. Merry Christmas, Mumble," he said. Mumble nodded. "Anything!"

"Christmas is saved!" Benny called out happily, receiving several answering cheers from the nearby toons. Mumble cheered the loudest.

"_Merry Christmas to All!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>And a Happy New Year. :) Hope you enjoyed!


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